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How The Media’s Lies About Innocent Fathers Also Harm Their Daughters
The Federalist ^ | 10-4-19 | Vanessa Puzder Kohorst

Posted on 10/04/2019 8:53:31 AM PDT by DeweyCA

While I don’t know them personally, I can’t help but feel empathy for Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s two young daughters, Margaret and Liza. I’m sure it’s hard for them to understand why anyone would attempt to humiliate someone they know is a wonderful man, all based on something even the attackers know is a lie.

I suspect that, like me, Margaret and Liza never thought they would have a famous father, or that anything so terrible could happen to him as it has to all three of us. My father certainly wasn’t famous when I was growing up, but he is now. He’s Andy Puzder. He’s often in the press talking or writing about ideas to help American workers. My dad comes from a working-class background; he worked his way through law school and later became the CEO of a big company and President Trump’s first choice to be America’s secretary of labor.

While Justice Kavanaugh made it through the confirmation process, my dad didn’t. His nomination was defeated because of abuse allegations that, like those against Justice Kavanaugh, were not only unsupported but admittedly false. All of dad’s six kids knew they were false, and both dad’s wife and his ex-wife, who is my mother, knew and publicly said they were false. No one who talked to any of us or who cared about the truth would have repeated these false claims.

But that didn’t stop the mainstream media from repeating them. To everyone who has never been through anything like this but tries to make sense of what’s happening every day: If you’re looking for the truth, you can no longer trust the mainstream media. They don’t care about it. Maybe they care about money, or helping their political friends, or promoting a political agenda, or 15 minutes of fame, but they don’t value the truth for its own sake. And they don’t care about the families, including the young children, of those they falsely accuse.

The New York Times recently proved the point. This time it was a former Clinton lawyer who claimed Justice Kavanaugh engaged in inappropriate conduct while in college. The Times ran the story but failed to note that the alleged victim never substantiated the claim and her friends stated she did not recall any such incident. After publication, the Times was compelled to issue a correction that would have humbled any news organization capable of humility.

Here’s what happened to our family. My mom and dad divorced more than 30 years ago. It was a tough time. They were raising the three of us, trying to protect us while facing a failed marriage, and trying to make ends meet. Mom was afraid about the future and angry about the past. She has publicly admitted that her attorney used “‘adult abuse’ as a vehicle get leverage in our divorce proceeding,” a decision that has “haunted” her ever since.

She said that my father had been physically abusive. Mom knew that wasn’t true. We all knew it wasn’t true. I was then about the age of Justice Kavanaugh’s daughters and I remember those days vividly. Mom and dad argued a lot, but there was never any violence or threat of violence. None.

Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyer recently admitted that “abortion rights” were part of what motivated her client to make her unsubstantiated allegations last year. They wanted to put “an asterisk” next to Kavanaugh’s name in case he voted to limit abortion. It sounded all too familiar to me.

My dad was involved as an attorney in the pro-life movement in St. Louis in the 1980s. He even authored part of a pro-life law the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately upheld. My mom hired a divorce attorney who was pro-choice. She came to believe that her attorney’s political views influenced him when he encouraged her to file abuse charges against my dad.

Unlike Ford, and to mom’s credit, she recanted the charges shortly afterwards, in 1990, and she has set the record straight on numerous occasions since. After dad was nominated for the cabinet, mom did everything she could to keep her mistake from hurting dad and all of his children.

Most people wouldn’t publicly admit their private wrongs, but mom has done so on a number of occasions. She even sent a long, heartfelt letter to the Senate saying “Andy is not and was not abusive or violent. He is a good, loving, and kind man, and a deeply committed and loving father.” I can tell you for certain that is the truth.

Everyone makes bad decisions, and in divorces they can make some very bad decisions. Mom made up for her mistake more than 25 years ago, but she—and all the rest of us in the family—have had to endure the embarrassment of watching the media trot it out again and again, because they disagree with my dad, fear his influence, and don’t have the decency to stick to honest arguments against him.

Unfortunately, Justice Kavanaugh’s daughters will endure much of the same in the coming years and for many of the same reasons. Like me, they will have to live with the smears against their father and family for the rest of their lives, through no fault of their father’s or their own. But the more important thing is that they have a father with character and courage, who despite his enemies’ sickening behavior will continue to stand up for what he believes.

And, I’m proud to say, so do I.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2020election; abortion; brettkavanaugh; dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; election2020; maga; mediabias; mediawingofthednc; partisanmediashills; presstitutes; scotus; smearmachine
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Sometimes when we read about media bias, we may forget about the effect that they have on the families of the people that they attack. The liberal media don't care about who they harm. They eagerly publish what they KNOW are lies in order to push their agenda. They truly are scumbags.
1 posted on 10/04/2019 8:53:31 AM PDT by DeweyCA
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To: DeweyCA

But.. Women and children never lie.


2 posted on 10/04/2019 8:56:54 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: DeweyCA
Although I have no personal experience I've seen it written...more than a few times...that in divorce cases it's SOP for the wife to make accusations of spousal and/or child abuse/molestation from the very start.

Of course at least some of these accusations are justified...there surely are men who do stuff like that...but there's no way that *all* of them are.

3 posted on 10/04/2019 8:59:49 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (A joke: Brennan,Comey and Lynch walk into a Barr...)
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To: DeweyCA

Bravo! Thank you for sharing.


4 posted on 10/04/2019 9:02:01 AM PDT by immadashell (Save Innocent Lives - ban gun free zones)
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To: Gay State Conservative

Divorce lawyers and Ambulance chasers are scum.


5 posted on 10/04/2019 9:05:09 AM PDT by gcparent (Justice Brett Kavanaugh)
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To: Gay State Conservative
...there surely are men who do stuff like that...

Those that do are not men.

6 posted on 10/04/2019 9:06:06 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Elitist Liberals have no idea the hunger and strength of the beast they have uncaged.)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts; gcparent
Divorce lawyers and Ambulance chasers are scum.

Agreed

Those that do are not men.

Agreed

7 posted on 10/04/2019 9:09:44 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (A joke: Brennan,Comey and Lynch walk into a Barr...)
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To: Gay State Conservative

My husband and I each had cousins, hapoemed in the same years, who were accused of violence or molestation. My uncle was accused, too.

Weird, in both cases the couples “had” to get married and our aunts and uncles bent over backward to helo with babies and money.


8 posted on 10/04/2019 9:16:30 AM PDT by madison10
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To: madison10

Happened


9 posted on 10/04/2019 9:17:03 AM PDT by madison10
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To: DeweyCA

People who allow themselves to be placed in these positions fall into a couple of camps: The first camp are the power hungry fools whose kids are secondary concerns. Or, they are dedicated servants who will take their children aside and talk to them.

Personally, the thought of putting my kids through this type of BS would preclude me from running for office...but no one is asking me either.


10 posted on 10/04/2019 9:17:48 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Gay State Conservative
there surely are men who do stuff like that

And there are women who do unspeakable things to men and to children (and I'm not even referring to abortion) … but it's politically incorrect to talk about that.

That's why I mention it.

11 posted on 10/04/2019 9:21:30 AM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: DeweyCA

But they mock Mike Pence for his faithfulness and protection of his vows.


12 posted on 10/04/2019 9:23:42 AM PDT by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches anything.)
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To: Vermont Lt
"the thought of putting my kids through this type of BS would preclude me from running for office"

That is exactly why they are doing these things! Work for this president and we will destroy you. Even thinking about helping him will damage your future.

13 posted on 10/04/2019 9:25:54 AM PDT by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches anything.)
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To: NorthMountain
Depends on how you define "unspeakable". To me "unspeakable" means actual violence against the spouse or the kids as well as molestation of the kids.

Yes,some women physically assault husbands or kids.And some molest kids.But it's far more common for the husband/father to do that stuff.

14 posted on 10/04/2019 9:26:41 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (A joke: Brennan,Comey and Lynch walk into a Barr...)
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To: DeweyCA

My father and I, in turn, were severely assaulted by the establishment. Dad’s children and my daughter understood clearly the obscenity of the complaints against us. My father was my hero.
My daughter has gone on to great acclaim for extremely difficult work with severely disabled autistic children. She founded and runs a unique enrichment program, Sweet Magnolia, for autistic syndrome children.
Do not feel sorry for Kavenaugh’s children. They are made stronger and their minds clearer by the adversity of evil people.


15 posted on 10/04/2019 9:31:50 AM PDT by Louis Foxwell (The denial of the authority of God is the central plank of the Progressive movement.)
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To: DeweyCA

For me, the worst thing about the Kavanaugh hearings was watching his precious daughters, so beaming, dressed up and all smiles looking forward to their daddy’s big day, being escorted in tears from the room a few minutes later after the scum-sucking, vomitous slime of left wing psychotic lunatics spewed their ugly hate for their dad in front of them.

It was a case study in who we are versus what those repulsive creatures who oppose us are.


16 posted on 10/04/2019 9:32:23 AM PDT by Skooz (Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us)
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To: Gay State Conservative

Let’s never forget that this is how America had one Barack Hussein Obama forced upon us

during his initial run at the city in Illinois he illegally had the divorce records of his opponent unsealed one week before the election and the Chicago Tribune posted it all over the news right before the election and that’s how he won the Senate seat


17 posted on 10/04/2019 9:33:41 AM PDT by Truthoverpower (The guvmint you get is the Trump winning express !)
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To: Gay State Conservative
... in divorce cases it's SOP for the wife to make accusations of spousal and/or child abuse/molestation from the very start.

A restraining order is often the first step recommended by slimy divorce lawyers who represent women. It has an undeniable stigma valuable to her case.

"She had to get a restraining order order against him! What an animal he must be!"

18 posted on 10/04/2019 9:36:10 AM PDT by Skooz (Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us)
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To: Gay State Conservative

It’s certainly far more common for men to be ACCUSED of abuse.


19 posted on 10/04/2019 9:55:17 AM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: NorthMountain
It’s certainly far more common for men to be ACCUSED of abuse.

I worked in a big city ER for years. I've seen that stuff..up close and personal. Men are more inclined...far more inclined...to do such things.

20 posted on 10/04/2019 9:57:43 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (A joke: Brennan,Comey and Lynch walk into a Barr...)
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